Coercion
by CGT
Summary: After Judy disappears for a day, Nick starts to notice his partner is acting weird.
1. Late for Work

The loud beeping woke Judy Hopps from her sleep. She was awake nearly instantaneously and managed to shut the alarm off in one swift motion. Bolting from her bed, she made her way to the small dresser tucked into the corner of the room. She shed her pajamas and quickly donned her police uniform. Moving as quietly as to not wake her neighbors, Judy walked to the mirror to check her appearance.

Judy was short, as were most rabbits, and her fur was pale gray in color. Her ears, which offered a level of hearing above most other animals, extended above her head about half of total body height. The police uniform that covered her body consisted of a durable, light blue shirt and heavy, dark blue pants with pads built into the knees. Over her torso she wore a dark blue vest that offered protection from knifes and small caliber firearms.

With a smile, Judy turned to the door and walked into the hall. It was time to go to work.

* * *

Nick Wilde walked into the front door of the Zootopia Police Department. He was a small, slender red fox. His orange fur was covered by a standard dark blue police uniform with a darker blue tie. He wore a pair of reflective aviator sunglasses to protect his sensitive eyes from the bright sunlight.

As he walked deeper into the station, Nick removed the sunglasses and sat down on a bench to the right of the door. He always met his partner, Judy, here before heading to the morning briefing. Nick noted it odd that Judy wasn't there already. She always got to work before him. He pulled out his phone and checked some new e-mail notifications, all the while he prepared speech he was going to give Judy about punctuality once she arrived, all in jest, of course.

Nick started to become more and more concerned, however, when roll call was only minutes away with no sigh of Judy. That wasn't like her. He dialed her number into his phone. It rang for several seconds before it went to her voicemail.

"Carrots, it's Nick. You are going to be late for work. Call me when you get this message." With that, Nick hung up and headed for the bullpen. Nick walked into the group of officers and silently prayed Judy was there. There was no sign of her. Nick walked to is normal seat in the front of the room. He pulled the large chair back and climbed into the seat. The chair was so large compared to the small mammal that he normally shared the chair with Judy, but there was still no sign of her.

The door in the front of the room opened and Police Chief Bogo, a towering cape buffalo, walked into the room. The other officers started pounding on the tables in a form of applause. Bogo paid it no mind and studied the clipboard in his left hand. He held his hand up to silence the room and looked up from the clipboard. He locked eyes with Nick and the empty space next to him.

"Where is Officer Hopps?" the Chief's low, baritone voice asked. Nick swallowed hard.

"I don't know, sir," he replied. Nick noted the Chief's expression turn into one of genuine concern, a rarity for the large buffalo. The Chief knew Judy's record for punctuality just as well as Nick did, so he knew how out of character it was the bunny.

"Have you tried to call her? Bogo asked. Nick nodded. Bogo thought for a few seconds before picking up the folders on the podium at the front of the room. "Well, we have today's assignments." Bogo divvied out the folders to the officers, who left the room one-by-one. After all the other officers had filed out of the room, Nick was left alone with Chief Bogo.

"Your assignment, Officer Wilde, is to find your partner and report back to the station." Nick leapt off the chair.

"I won't let you down, sir!" Nick quipped with a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Just go, Wilde," Bogo commanded as he walked out of the room. Nick turned toward the exit and walked out of the bullpen. Nick wasn't sure how to feel. Judy was never late and she would never disappear without letting someone know. Maybe she had an accident in her apartment this morning? It seemed like as good a place as any to start.

Nick pulled the black and white police car up to Judy's apartment building, the Grand Pangolin Apartments. Nick walked through the door and headed to Judy's room on the third floor. He walked up to her door and tried the handle.

 _Locked_ _._

Well, of course it was. Judy never left her door unlocked, so it was unlikely that she was home, but there may be evidence as to where she went. Nick walked back down to the front desk and rang the bell on the counter. Judy's landlady, a scaly anteater, walked up to the desk.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, Officer Nick Wilde: ZPD," Nick began. "Have you seen Judy Hopps today by any chance?"

"I have not," the landlady answered flatly.

"Well then, I'm wondering if you could let me into Judy Hopps' room on the third floor?" Nick asked. "I have probable cause to believe she missing." Nick hoped that throwing out the words "probably cause" would get her to help him. He had no idea if she was missing. He let out a silent sigh of relief when she reached for the keys and started walking toward Judy's room.

She opened the door and left to walk back to the front desk without saying a word. Nick thanked her as she turned to walk down the stairs. Nick peeked into the dark room. It was perfectly neat, so no sign of a struggle. Nick walked into the center of the room and looked around, his eyes straining to find anything out of place.

It was just like Judy to keep her home spotless. Nick kept looking for anything out of the ordinary. He walked over to the mirror where he saw several notes taped around the edge. Most were inconsequential; nothing more than a shopping list and a few other reminders. Nick noted that some of reminders were for later that day and the next day.

 _So she wasn't planning on leaving._

Nick then noticed the picture of the two of them taped to the top of the mirror, just next to the picture of her parents. He turned to the bed and noticed the pair of pajamas neatly folded resting next to the pillows. He walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. One set of her police uniform was missing.

 _So she was on her way to work._

With that information in mind, he left the room, making sure to lock it behind him. He was going to have retrace Judy's steps to find out where she went.

* * *

The room was dark and the air felt damp and cold. A single small figure sat in a chair in the middle of the room. The air was filled with the sounds of dripping water and the slight whimper coming from the figure. The creaking sound of a large metal door opening shattered the silence. The small figure weakly looked up to the source. A much larger figure was walking into the room, carrying a flashlight. He pointed it at the smaller figure, illuminated the crimson blood sticking to the smaller figure's fur and clothes. The large figure approached and kneeled down in front of the small figure's fur.

"Well, Officer Hopps, it's time to go to work."


	2. 11-95

Nick drove slowly down the street toward the bus stop that Judy always took to work, looking down each alley as he drove by. He knew it was a long shot, but he was quickly running out of options. He pulled out his phone and dialed Judy's number yet again and got her voicemail yet again. Concern was starting grow inside him as he drove closer to the bus stop.

With leads running thin, Nick pulled over to the side of the road and dialed the number for Judy's parents. He listened to the phone ring for several seconds when he heard the sound of someone picking up on the other end of the line.

"Yello!" he heard the voice say on the other end of line. "This is Stu Hopps, how can I help you!"

"Yes, Mr. Hopps, this is Officer Nick Wilde with the Zootopia Police Department," Nick began.

"Oh, yeah. Judy's partner, right?" Stu asked.

"Yes, I am. I was wondering..." Nick started.

"Oh, how is she doing? We haven't talked to her this week yet!" Stu interrupted. Realization hit Nick with Stu's statement.

"So, you haven't heard anything from her today?" he asked.

"No, can't say that I have," Stu answered. "Why? Did something happen to her?"

"No! No, nothing like that," Nick lied. "I'm sure it's nothing. I'll talk to you later." With that, Nick hung up the phone before Stu could say anything else. He wanted to end the conversation before it became awkward. Judy had mentioned how much her parents worried and Nick didn't want to add any fuel to the fire.

Nick ran his paw through the fur on top of his head, trying to collect his thoughts that were quickly running out of control.

"Carrots, where did you go?" he asked out loud, as if Judy could somehow hear him. Nick followed every scrap of a lead he could find, which was admittedly not much. He spent all day searching every inch of Judy's route to work, with no luck. Judy had apparently vanished without a trace.

As his shift came to an end, Nick pulled his police cruiser into its parking spot at the precinct. Nick walked through the door and moved to his desk. He logged into the system and began filing a missing person's report. It would take more than one fox to Judy now and the longer she was gone, the less likely it would be that anyone actually found her.

Nick was putting the finishing touches on the report when he felt the presence of someone walking up behind him.

"No luck, Officer Wilde?" Nick heard Chief Bogo's low voice say. He could hear the sadness in the buffalo's voice.

"None, sir," Nick said as he turned in his chair. He wanted to think of some joke to say, but for once in his life, none came.

"Well, finish your report and then get some sleep, Wilde," Bogo said as he turned to leave. Sleep would prove to be far easier said than done. Nick tossed and turned, his mind racing with places he should have looked and people he should have asked.

Nick walked into the precinct the next morning with a large cup of coffee in his left paw. He instinctively moved toward the bench next to the door, only to look up at the last second and realize the bench was once again empty. Nick turned and headed straight toward the bullpen for the morning roll call.

Bogo once again went through the morning routine. The only difference was his mention of the missing person's report for Officer Judy Hopps. Nick could feel the tensions rise throughout the room at the mention of Judy's disappearance. The other officers took cases concerning one their own quite personally.

Yet again, all other officers were given assignments, leaving Nick and Bogo alone. The large buffalo walked up to Nick and towered over the small fox.

"Nick, I know how much you want to look for Judy," he said. "But we have other officers on that case now. Today, you're going to be on speed patrol in the outskirts of Sahara Square. Just take it easy today." As much as he wanted to continue his own search, Nick couldn't argue. He was too tired.

Nick walked out to his cruiser and drove to his first patrol location and parked his car. As each car drove past, Nick repeated the speed readout from radar out loud.

"35..."

"33..."

"37..."

Suddenly a car shot past Nick's position. He didn't even have to look at the radar to know it was going far too fast. A glance at radar confirmed the vehicle was traveling at well over sixty miles per hour. Nick flipped on the lights and started his pursuit. Luckily, the driver of the vehicle noticed Nick trailing him and slowed to a stop along the side of the road. Nick pulled to stop several yards behind him.

"Officer Nick Wilde conducting 11-95 on 5th Street just north of Moore Street," he called over the radio. He exited the vehicle and began walking toward the car, notepad in hand. Just as he walked up to the car, the window started to roll down. The face of a gray goat looked Nick in the eye.

"What can I do for you today, officer?" he asked in a calm tone.

"Do you know how fast you were going back there sir?" Nick asked, raising his notepad and clicking the pen.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Kinda zoned out there..." The goat responded.

"Well, you were going sixty-seven in a thirty-five zone, sir. I need to see your licence and registration," Nick asked flatly. He was in no mood to deal with all the formality of a routine traffic stop. As the goat reached into the glove box for the required documents, Nick's eyes noted what appeared to be movement in the back seat.

Nick kept his eyes on that area of the car even as the goat turned and handed Nick his licence and registration. Nick looked over the document and was just about to walk back to his cruiser to verify the information when the movement caught his eye once again.

"Sir, could you please step out of the car?" Nick asked, though it was more of a command. The goat let out an annoyed sigh.

"Why?" the goat asked with anger starting to grow in his voice. "On what grounds?" Nick was about to answer when he saw more movement from the back seat and now could clearly make it out as struggling. He quickly backed away from the car several steps and drew his sidearm, keeping it pointed at the ground.

"Sir, place your hooves on the wheel and don't move." With his free hand, Nick reached for the radio on his belt. "This is Officer Wilde, requesting assistance for a possible 2-07: 5th Street just north of Moore Street." As he spoke, he saw the goat's hooves start to move out of sight. He raised his sidearm slightly.

"Sir, keep your hooves where I can see them." Nick kept the goat still until another squad car pulled up to the scene. Officers Delgato and Fangmeyer stepped out and moved toward the suspects car, opening the door and pulling the driver out. Nick moved toward the car as the other officers placed the goat in handcuffs. He slowly opened the back door.

"Carrots?"


	3. Questions

"Really? There's nothing else you can tell us?"

Nick sat across the table from Judy in the small, brightly lit interrogation room. One wall sported a two-way mirror. Nick hated that the questioning needed to be done in such a dingy-looking place, but it was the only available room. Judy sat motionless across the table with her head in her hands. Nick could see the bruising on her head and arms and a small bandage wrapped around her left forearm and a brace on her right wrist. Judy looked up at Nick.

"There isn't much to tell, Nick," Judy replied in a tired and exasperated tone. "He jumped me on the way to work yesterday. He roughed me up a bit. Nick, I'm fine."

"He did a little more than rough you up, Carrots," Nick said as he checked the file. "A sprained wrist, a few cuts, and a ton of bruising. Why would someone want to take the effort to beat up an cop?"

"I don't know. People do crazy things, Nick," Judy answered. "Maybe he thought I would have money or something. Either way, the guy was a nut job and I'm safe now." Nick leaned back in his chair and internally analysed what Judy had said. He leaned forward again when a nurse walked into the room to double check some of Judy's bandages.

"Well, I'm glad for that, Carrots," he said as he stood and walked out of the door. He entered the hall briefly before ducking into the room next door. It was a dark room with several monitors and recording equipment stacked against one wall. The other wall was dominated by the other side of the two-way mirror. Bogo stood next to the glass wall, arms crossed.

"It's good to have her back," the Chief said. Nick remained silent, studying Judy's reactions. Years of making a living as con man meant that he had an excellent grasp on body language and there was something about Judy's that made him uneasy. Bogo noticed Nick's silence.

"Something wrong, Wilde?" he asked.

"Yeah there are just so many things that make no sense, sir," Nick replied.

"There's a lot in the world that makes no sense, Wilde," Bogo countered. "Either way, it's an open-and-shut case."

"It is though?" Nick shot back. "Why would he speed if he knew he was carrying a hostage in the back seat? That's asking for trouble."

"Nick, the suspect has a history of mental illness, he clearly wasn't in his right mind," the Chief replied.

"Nothing this bad, though. And how did he manage to jump her in one of the few places along her route that wasn't covered by security cameras? That takes planning," Nick countered back. Bogo turned to the fox with a stern look on his face.

"Wilde, I know you want believe that the world is not that random," he said. "It was something I had to come to grips with when I first joined the force. Just be glad we got her back safe." Nick looked back toward Judy through the window. He sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Nick said. He straightened his posture. "Welp, catch ya later!" Nick said as he walked out of the room. He strolled into the hall just as he heard the door to Judy's room open. Nick stopped and watched as Judy walked into the hall.

"Hey, sorry about grilling you so hard there," Nick started. "It's just procedure." Judy let out a laugh.

"Nick, I know the procedure, probably better than you," she said. "Don't worry about it." She started walking toward the lobby. "You coming?" she called back to Nick.

"Coming where?" Nick asked as he jogged to catch up to the bunny.

"Look, I haven't really eaten since yesterday and I am starving," she said. "Want to grab some dinner?"

The pair walked out of the front door and began walking down the street. There was a small diner situated a few blocks from the precinct that Nick and Judy had eaten at several times before while on patrols. The two police officers entered the diner and took a seat in the first available booth. Other animals scurried about as the waitress walked up to their table.

"How can I help you two today?" As she spoke, Nick could tell she was eyeing the numerous bruises on Judy's arms.

"I'll have the salad," Judy replied in a happy tone. Nick seconded that order but requested a side of blueberries to go along with his salad. The waitress wrote down the orders and walked away. A moment of silence followed.

While Judy seemed to be perfectly calm on the outside, Nick began to notice subtle twitches in her ears that betrayed the fact that she was on edge.

"Carrots, are you sure you're OK? You had a rough day," Nick said, letting genuine concern creep into his voice.

"Nick, I told you I'm fine. Yeah, it was a rough day, but it's over now." Judy paused for a brief moment. "I just want everything to go back to normal as soon as possible." As she spoke, the waitress brought out their food. The table became totally quite as they both began to eat.

Suddenly, Judy began tapping her nail against the table. It sounded like the beat to some song. Maybe Judy was humming the newest Gazelle song in her head? Then, just as fast as she started, she stopped tapping and curled her hand into fist, as if to stop herself from doing it again. Nick noticed the behavior, but opted not to comment on it.

Then Judy looked up from her food and stared Nick dead in the eye. It was an action Nick couldn't ignore. Judy stared at Nick for several seconds, blinking at random intervals. Nick glanced around the diner to check if anyone else noticed her odd behavior. No one did.

"Hey, Carrot's, you OK?" he asked. Judy seemed to snap out of what appeared to be a trance, but Nick saw the faintest trace of an exasperated expression cross her face. She looked back at her food.

"Yeah, I'm OK," she said slowly. "I'm just tired." She looked back up at Nick. "I probably should go get some sleep, and call my parents. They're probably worried sick about me." Judy finished the last of her salad and stood, placing the payment on the table.

"I'll see you tomorrow, OK?" she said.

"You're not going to take some time off?" Nick asked back in surprise as he stood.

"Like I said, Nick, I want things to just go back to normal." Judy said as she walked back toward the door. "I had desk work I needed to do anyway." With that, she left. Nick stood still for several seconds, watching Judy walk away. He then fished money out of his pocket and paid for the food before leaving the diner himself.


	4. Lies

Authors Note: Thank you so much to everyone who has favorited and followed this story so far. If anyone is enjoying it, it makes the effort put into writing worth it. Please review! I love knowing what you think of the story!

* * *

Nick walked through the front doors of ZPD with a another coffee in hand and, for the first time this week, he saw his partner sitting on the bench, waiting for him. Judy was looking through her phone, checking some messages. She looked up as Nick walked up.

"Good morning, partner!" she said. Nick sat down next to her.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"Yep. How 'bout you?" Judy asked back.

"As good as ever!" Nick replied, but it was a bold-faced lie. The details about the previous night's encounter kept bouncing around in his skull, namely Judy's strange behavior. Nick was now running on fumes after two nights of nearly nonexistent sleep.

Luckily, both he and Judy were assigned to desk work that morning at roll call. Normally Nick hated desk work, but today he was so tired that sitting at a desk all day sounded inviting. He just needed to stay awake.

He was busy filing some after action reports when he saw Judy stand from her desk and briskly walked away with her phone in her hand. Nick paid it little mind until his eyes caught a glimpse of what was on Judy's computer. Curiosity got the better of him and he stood to investigate.

He walked over to the computer, keeping his eyes peeled for Judy. The thing that caught his attention was the large black lettering on the file Judy was looking at.

 _Night Howler Poisonings._

Why was she looking at the Night Howler case file? That case had been solved a over year ago. Did Judy think they missed something? Did something happen to her while she was gone to remind her of this case?

Nick didn't have time to investigate further when he heard Judy's footsteps returning. He scampered back to his desk and sat down before Judy walked back into the room. Being cautious to avoid her suspicion, Nick watched Judy as she sat back down at her computer. He noted her look of surprise on her face when she noticed she had left the page open on her computer and she glanced around the office. Nick quickly looked back at his computer before she looked in his direction.

 _What are you hiding, Carrots?_

For the rest of day, Nick kept his eye on Judy. A weird sensation started to creep into his mind. The sensation of distrust. Nick had spent decades of his life as a con man and in that time he formed a natural distrust for other animals, except maybe Finnick. In the year since he met Judy, Nick had felt that layer of distrust melt away and he began to open up to other animals.

Now, that distrust was returning and it was returning because of Judy. Something happened to her while she was kidnapped, something she wasn't willing to talk about. Asking her would get Nick nowhere. He knew Judy was far too stubborn for that to be a viable tactic.

At the end of their shift, Judy and Nick clocked out and headed toward the door. They were just out the door when Nick stopped and placed his hand over his pocket.

"Hey, Carrots, I just realized I left my phone at my desk," Judy turned to look at him. "I'll see ya tomorrow, OK?"

"Yeah," Judy answered before she left. Nick could almost detect a hint of sadness in her voice, but couldn't be sure. Nick turned back toward the office. His phone was in his pocket, but he needed a reason not to leave with Judy as he normally did. He silently chastised himself for lying to Judy as he made his way to Chief Bogo's office. He walked up to the door and knocked several times.

"Come in," he heard Bogo's say from the other side. Nick slowly opened the door and walked into the room. Bogo looked up from his desk and removed his glasses. "What is it, Wilde?" Nick took a second to respond.

"In all honesty, sir, I am concerned about Officer Hopps," he said. Bogo set his pen down on the desk.

"This again, I..." he began before Nick cut him off.

"I know what you're gonna say, but she's been acting weird ever since. She's been looking back over files for the night howler case and her ears are always twitching and..."

"And she's been through more than most officers experience in a lifetime." Now it was Bogo's turn to cut Nick off. "Nick, victims of traumatic experiences can develop tics like that. Trust me, I've seen it enough." Nick opened his mouth to protest, but Bogo cut him off once again. "The best thing you can do for Judy is to give her some space. When she's ready, she will open up. Don't push the issue." Nick tried to think of something else to say, but he knew nothing he could say would change the Chief's mind.

Nick left the office and walked toward the lobby. His brain raced. Was he just paranoid? There was a little voice in his head screaming at him that something was wrong. That little voice had saved Nick's tail on many a scam before, so he was wary to disregard it.

As he walked into the lobby, he made up his mind. Something was up with Judy and he was going to find out what it was regardless of what Bogo said. It only hurt Judy to keep this stuff bottled inside. Nick of all animals knew the consequences of hiding one's emotions.

 _Tomorrow, I'll find out what you're up too, Carrots._

Tonight, he needed sleep.


	5. A Hug

The day started like all the others. Nick walked through the front doors of the ZPD, this time with a noticable pep in his step thanks to a full night's worth of sleep behind him. Nick walked over to where Judy was sitting with her head in her hands.

"How goes it, partner?" he asked. Judy looked up Nick, who could see the dark circles under her eyes. She certainly hadn't gotten a full night's sleep. Upon seeing Nick, she shifted her expression in an attempt to disguise her tired appearance. Nick saw straight through the ruse, but he chose not to comment.

"Going fine!" she answered. Nick noticed a strange hollowness to her words as she spoke.

"Well, glad to hear it, Carrots," Nick replied, doing his best to act oblivious. The two engaged in small talk until it came time for roll call. As the assignments were divvied up, Judy was unsurprisingly given desk work. Nick, due to a shortage of on-duty police officers that day, was assigned to a standard patrol route.

As he left for his vehicle, Nick was silently upset that he wouldn't be able to figure out Judy was up to that day, but maybe he needed a day to just rest his brain. He had just left the building when he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey, wait up!" Nick turned to the source of the voice and saw Judy bounding after him.

"Carrots, what are you...?" was all Nick was able to get out before Judy slammed into him wrapping him in an embrace; an embrace that lasted a few seconds too long. Judy separated herself from Nick and looked up at him.

"Watch your back out there, partner!" she said to a confused Nick before she left to go back into the precinct. Nick's brain didn't know how to react. Part of his brain was screaming at him that he was just paranoid, but Judy's actions were so out of character for her that he couldn't pretend it didn't happen.

He stood still for several seconds before turning back toward his car. He spent the morning driving his standard route, but he kept playing Judy's behavior on repeat in his mind. She was always on edge, even when she pretended to be at ease. She was looking over old case files. Weird things were happening around her.

Worst of all, she was lying. She saw something or something was done to her that caused all this, but she refused to talk about it. One of the many things Nick appreciated most about Judy was her unerring honesty. Something happened to change that.

Nick was lost in thought when he realized his route was taking him past Judy's apartment building. An idea formed in his head as he pulled the car to a stop. He left the car and walked to the staircase and walked to Judy's room on the third floor. Nick tried the handle on the door, knowing it would be locked.

To his surprise, the door swung open. Nick stepped into the small apartment and was astounded at how different it looked compared to when he searched it four days ago. While it was neat and orderly before, it now looked like a bomb had gone off inside. Papers were strewn across the floor and covered her desk. Clothes from the previous days were thrown on the floor and her bed wasn't made. Nick had to let it all sink in for several seconds.

Nick moved over to the desk and picked up the papers on Judy's desk. There didn't seem to be a pattern to it, but it did look like Judy had been doing some type of research. Nick noticed what looked like piles of blueprints when he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey, you're not the bunny." Nick spun around to see an antelope standing in the open doorway.

"No, I am not," Nick replied, his mind racing to think of a logical excuse as to why he was in Judy's apartment.

"Oh, did someone else file a noise complaint?" the large animal asked.

 _Noise complaint?_

"Yes, is there anything you know about it?" Nick asked with assumed confidence in his voice.

"Oh, she's been real loud for the past couple days. She talks to herself a lot, too. I was this close to filing a complaint myself," the antelope said, holding up his fingers for emphasis.

"Can you hear what she's saying?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, but I never pay any attention to it. She's like, psycho, or something," the animal replied.

"Is she talking on the phone with anyone or...?" Nick pressed.

"Look, man. She lives her life, I live mine," he replied. Nick knew he wasn't going to get any more information from the antelope.

"Well, thank you for your cooperation," Nick said as he squeezed past the large antelope to leave the room, closing the door behind. He quickly headed back down the stairs.

As Nick climbed back into the car, he felt something strange in his lower back. He reached back with his paw and felt something wedged underneath his belt. Pulling it out, Nick realized it was a small folded piece of paper. He slowly opened it and felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach as he read the words written with a shaking hand.


	6. Judy

Judy didn't want to do this. She had no other choice. Nick was being too dense to catch any of her hints. This wasn't her fault though. That's what she kept telling herself. It wasn't her fault.

Judy finished that last of her reports for the morning and readied for her lunch break. It would probably be her last. Actually, there was no debate, she would get fired after today. It was a small price to pay.

She went to her locker and retrieved a small duffle bag full of supplies. Judy had spent the previous days figuring out what supplies she would need and now that research would need to be put to the test. After a quick double check of the contents of the bag, Judy headed toward the lobby.

Stepping outside, Judy did a quick glance around before moving toward the row of parked police cars. Normally, those cars had to signed out by officers, but Judy didn't have a legitimate reason to take one. Luckily, she had managed to swipe the keys for one of the cruisers from Clawhauser when he wasn't looking. He wouldn't notice they were gone until that night.

She walked along the row of cars until she found the cruiser whose tag matched the tag on the key. Judy threw her duffle bag in the back seat and started to pull out of the parking space, taking note of the security cameras recording her. This would be just one of the things that would get her fired.

Judy began to drive out of the city. Throughout the whole drive, she constantly replayed her plan again and again. Each time it seemed less and less likely that it would actually work. If she had been given more time, then maybe she would have a better chance of pulling it off.

She drove in silence. The fact she hadn't slept in several days started to weigh on her, but she only needed to stay awake a few more hours. After that, this whole thing would be over. She thought about calling Nick and leaving one last hint. Maybe he could stop her from doing it at the last second.

She quickly reversed her decision. They would hear and all her work up to this point would have been for naught. Anyway, the note she slipped into Nick's belt would explain it all, he just needed to find it before it was too late.

Judy slowed the car to a stop in front of the large, fortress-like, building. By this point, Judy knew every inch of the building by heart. She spent every night combing over the blueprints she managed to find in the Zootopia City Hall archives. She stopped at the front gate, which was manned by a security guard.

Judy passed through the gate and held up her authorization papers. The papers were fake. She had spent over an hour learning how to forge Chief Bogo's signature. As the guard looked through the papers, Judy silently prayed her forging efforts were satisfactory. If this was a higher security facility, she never would have gotten this far.

The security guard nodded and handed the papers back to Judy before pressing the button that opened the gate. Judy rolled through and pulled her car up to one of the back entrances to the building. She stepped from the car and looked up at the lettering on the side of the building.

 _Zootopia Correctional Facility._

Judy grabbed the duffle bag from the back seat and began walking toward the front door. With every step, her heart began to beat faster and faster, to the point she felt like she would faint. She entered the door and used the forged papers to enter the lobby before walking toward the cell block.

She knew she wouldn't be able to get past this point with her bag unopened. Her entire plan hinged on this moment. Two security guards, a wolf and a cheetah, manned the last checkpoint, each standing on either side of a metal detector. Judy took a deep breath. It was now or never.

Judy calmly walked toward the two holding her duffle bag in her left hand. Once she did this, she would only have seconds left to act out the rest of her plan. As she approached, Judy reached into the bag and pulled out the dart gun from within.

"I'm so sorry," Judy said as she raised the dart gun and fired, striking the cheetah in the chest. The shock stunned the wolf just long enough for Judy to reload and fire again before he could sound the alarm. The tranquilizer in the darts worked fast and both guards were out cold within seconds.

While no alarm was raised, it was only a matter of time before someone realized the guards were unconscious. Judy reloaded the dart gun and grabbed her duffle bag before running around the metal detector.

She jogged down the hall until she found the cell control room. Another security guard sat at the controls, apparently oblivious to Judy's attack. An additional dart rendered the guard unconscious. Judy quickly checked to see if the cell number she had found was correct, which it was. Judy then keyed the controls to open that cell.

Judy ran down the block toward the single open cell. She stopped and looked into the darkened room, lit only by the hallway light. Something stirred within.

"Well, Judy, I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up," Dawn Bellwether's squeaky voice said from within the cell.


	7. Escape

Nick sped back to the precinct. He pulled the car to a stop and sprinted into the lobby. Other officers stared in disbelief as Nick bolted toward Chief Bogo's office. He didn't even think about knocking when he threw the door open.

"Wilde!? What's the meaning of this?" the Chief growled as Nick came to a stop in front of his desk.

"First off, I told you so," Nick said as he tried to catch his breath. He held up Judy's note. "But we've got a problem."

* * *

Judy tossed the duffle bag on the ground at Bellwether's feet. The small sheep stepped forward to examine it.

"Relax, everything you wanted is in there," Judy said as she checked to see if anyone was coming. "Just put those clothes on over the uniform, it'll be easier to get you out that way."

"Well, you're a smart one aren't you?" Bellwether smirked as she threw the plain-colored clothes over the burnt orange prison uniform.

"We don't have much time," Judy said. "Hurry up." Judy said, making no effort to disguise the irritability in her voice. Bellwether finished dressing and looked through the now-empty duffle bag.

"Hey, where's the phone?" she said as she threw the bag to the side. Judy drew the phone from her pocket and held it up. Bellwether lunged for the phone, but Judy was quicker in pulling it out of the way.

" _Promise_ me," Judy said. "Promise me they'll be safe."

"I promise, just give me the phone!" Bellwether demanded. Judy consented and the two started to make their getaway. Judy led Bellwether to the metal detector where the two guards remained unconscious.

"Wow, didn't know you had it in you, Judy," Bellwether commented as they walked past. Judy elected to ignore her as she led the sheep to a side entrance. They probably only had seconds left to escape and Judy was surprised an alarm hadn't been set off already.

The two made it to Judy's car and Judy used the key to open the trunk of the vehicle.

"No way. I'm not getting in there," Bellwether said.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Judy countered. "Get in the trunk." Bellwether agreed with a sigh. Judy then moved to the driver's door and started the car. Now would come the moment of truth. She pulled the car to the gate, eyeing the security guard. Judy had one last tranquilizer dart ready to go if the guard tried to stop her.

Luckily, the guard let Judy pass with no hesitation. As they drove away from the prison, Judy felt her heartbeat, which she hadn't realized was pounding out of control begin to slow down. She had actually done it.

Judy drove for several hours, far enough to be outside of the radius of the police roadblocks that were sure to go up once Bellwether was discovered missing. Sure enough, about thirty minutes after Judy left the prison, a call went over the police scanner alerting the ZPD that there was an escape from Zootopia Correctional Facility.

Once Judy was in an area she knew the police wouldn't search for several more hours, she pulled off to the side of the road. Getting out of the car, Judy moved to the trunk.

"You couldn't have tried to miss just one of those potholes, huh?" Bellwether asked once the trunk was opened.

"Oh, I'm sorry if your comfort wasn't my top priority," Judy shot back sarcastically. "Now you're free. I held up my end of the bargain. Now hold up yours." Bellwether pulled the phone from her pocket and dialed a number. The sheep then put the phone to her ear and listened for several seconds.

"Yeah, it's done. I'm out," she said to the animal on the other side of the phone. She then lowered the phone and looked at Judy. "Where are we?"

"Route 460, about 200 miles north of the city," Judy replied.

"Route 460, about 200 miles north of the city," Bellwether said in a quiet voice before hanging up the phone. "There, you happy?" she said to Judy.

"Not exactly. Can I leave now?" Judy said. "You don't need me anymore."

"If you leave now," Bellwether said as she held the phone up. "I make one call and it undoes everything you've done so far. I'm not done with you yet."

"What else could I possible do for you?" Judy asked. "I already ruined my life for you, Dawn!" Judy could feel rage start to boil inside her, but as long a Bellwether had that phone in her possession, Judy knew there wasn't much she could do. In her mental and physical state, Judy wasn't totally sure she could overpower the diminutive sheep. She couldn't take on the guards without...

 _The tranquilizer darts._

Judy had one left, but it was still in the car. Her brain started to race to figure out how to get to the gun without Bellwether noticing. She then noticed Bellwether was talking.

"Hey, are you listening?" the sheep's voice snapped Judy out of her thoughts. She suddenly realized she wasn't even looking at Bellwether anymore, she was looking at the car. Bellwether followed Judy's gaze.

"What are you...?" Bellwether said as she started moving toward the driver's side door of the police cruiser. She opened the door and noticed the dart gun sitting on the passenger seat. "Well, well, well. You wouldn't have been planning on using this by any chance?"

Judy was just about to respond when saw a vehicle approaching in the distance.


	8. Prisoner

Author's Note: Thank you to everybody who's read this story so far! It's fun to write and I'm glad people like it. Please review. I love seeing your thoughts on the story!

* * *

"Approaching vehicle. Four hundred yards out."

Nick sat in silence as the small convoy moved toward the parked car. It was unknown if Judy intentionally left the vehicle's transponder on or simply forgot about it, but the ZPD knew extactly where she was only minutes after they discovered the car was gone.

Now Nick was part of small team sent to retrieve the car and anyone who might be inside. As the three police vans slowed to a stop about a hundred yards away from the seemingly abandoned vehicle, the Special Weapons and Tactics team leapt from the back doors of the vans and moved into position.

The SWAT officers moved themselves toward the car slowly in two columns, each following an officer carrying a ballistic shield while keeping their assault rifles trained on the car. They got within a few yards of the car before they stopped. Nick disembarked the van and watched from a distance as one of the SWAT officers raised a bullhorn.

"Dawn Bellwether and Judy Hopps, step out of the vehicle with your hands up!" Tense seconds passed as the officers as they waited for a response. After seeing no movement, the officer raised the bullhorn again. "Dawn Bellwether and Judy Hopps, this is ZPD SWAT. Step out of the vehicle now!"

Still there was no movement. The lead SWAT officer motioned for the others to move forward. As a single, well-trained unit, the SWAT team began to advance. As they reached the car, they spread out and surrounded the vehicle. Moving with lightning speed, they moved up to the car and threw the doors open.

"Front seat clear."

"Rear seat clear."

"Trunk clear."

"Vehicle clear. Nobody's here."

* * *

Judy's eyes fluttered open. As she regained her senses, her brain was assaulted by a strange mixture of sensations. She felt rested for the first time in days while at the same time her head pounded with a ferocious headache, no doubt caused by the tranquilizer in her system. Her brain started to remember the events leading up to this situation and she bolted upright.

She had been on the side of the road. Bellwether had found the dart gun. A car was pulling up. The last thing she remembered was a sharp sting in her side before waking up here.

Judy took a few seconds to take in her environment when her brain had a sense if recognition. Fear followed. She was in a dark and damp room and was on a small cot with a basically nonexistent mattress.

"Where am I?" Judy asked to no one in particular, already knowing the answer.

"You don't remember?" Judy jumped slightly at the sound of Bellwether's voice. She hadn't noticed the sheep sitting in the darkened corner. "This is where my associates brought you the first day you met them." Judy looked around the room.

"Why am I here? You're free. It's over," Judy said as she slid he feet off the bed and onto the floor.

"Oh, you're looking at the small picture, Judy," Bellwether replied. "Getting out of jail was just a small part of this whole thing."

"What are you getting at?" Judy pried, hoping for some more details on the sheep's plan.

"Oh, that would be too easy!" Bellwether said as she rose from her chair. "What would be the fun in spilling everything now?" The sheep walked toward the large metal door covering the exit. Judy bolted up from the stop to stop her, intent on getting answers.

"Hey, wait..." Judy suddenly felt all control leave her body, followed by extreme pain emanating from her neck. Before Judy knew what was happening, she was lying on the ground, twitching. Bellwether slowly turned around to face Judy, holding up a small remote in her hand.

"Did I forget to mention my little toy?" she said as she released the button. Judy felt the pain drain away and feeling returned to her limbs. She slowly sat up and placed her paw on her throat feeling the outline of a shock collar on her neck.

"You are actually insane," Judy said, trying to catch her breath.

"Oh, Judy, you know it's not smart to insult someone with their finger on the trigger," Bellwether sneered before depressing the button yet again. Judy felt the electric pulses course through her body again. Her limbs locked as the the collar overrode her brain's signals.

Bellwether held the button down for several seconds and watched Judy writhe in pain on the dirty floor. Judy gasped for air as soon as the sheep released the button. She gritted her teeth as her body tried to mediate the burning sensation. She clawed at the collar, trying to find clasp.

"Good luck getting it off, Officer Hopps," Bellwether taunted. "It's permanently sealed." Judy gave up trying to remove the shock collar and pushed herself onto her knees.

"Just promise me," Judy said through her breaths. "Just promise me my family will be safe."

"Oh, Officer Hopps, always so noble," Bellwether replied with a sarcastic tone in her voice. "I have no issue with your family. They'll be fine." With those words, Bellwether left the room, closing the door behind her. Judy saw the faintest glimpse of a concrete staircase leading upward on the other side of the door.

Judy stood and slowly walked back to the cot. Her whole body ached from the electrocution. She sat down on the cot and looked around the room, taking in the small details. The room was essentially a concrete box with a single light source hanging from the ceiling. The only access was a the large door across the room from the bed.

 _But if the stairs lead up, this is probably the basement. And if this is the basement, it needs a..._

Judy's eyes locked on the small drain in the corner of the room.


	9. Help

Author's Note: Yeah, this chapter suffered from a ton of writers block and actually went through about five different versions before I settled on one, so sorry it's late!

* * *

"OK, let's take this from the beginning."

Nick spoke to himself as he threw the case file down on his desk and sat down. He opened the folder and thumbed through the files, his brain running to piece together the series of events that lead to this point. He was missing something.

He pulled the photos taken from the street cameras that showed Judy walking toward the bus stop that she always took to work. Somewhere in between two of the cameras, she disappeared. Since it was unlikely she was abducted in the middle of the sidewalk, she was most likely quickly dragged into one of the adjacent alleys, which limited the total number of possibilities.

"Oh, why didn't I see that before?" Judy had said she had been forced into the back seat of the goat's car, but why hadn't she fought back? Knowing Judy, she would've kicked the windows out before going quietly. And now knowing she was speaking under duress, nothing Judy had said was credible.

Nick scoured the other street cameras in the area around the time of Judy's disappearance for hours and, unsurprisingly, saw no evidence of the goat's sedan. Searching for a vehicle quickly became a dead end. It could be any of the thousands of cars that roamed Zootopia at any given moment. A proverbial needle in a haystack.

Nick shifted his attention to Judy's note, a copy of which was now tucked within the case file. She had offhandedly mentioned that "they were listening" so she wasn't able to verbally warn anyone about Bellwether.

"How are 'they' listening?" None of the medical reports from Judy's injury's mentioned any kind of listening device in her belongings, which left only one possibility. Nick stood from his desk and walked briskly toward the front door. He might know someone with the answers.

He didn't have to search long when he saw the familiar maroon van parked in a familiar alley. Finnick had a particular affinity toward this alley for a reason Nick could never understand. The tiny fox was one of the few animals Nick had difficulty getting a read on, which was one of the reasons he respected the diminutive con artist.

Nick knocked on the back door of the van and was forced to duck out of the way almost immediately as Finnick threw the door open.

"Who's there!?" the fennec shouted in his surprisingly low-pitched voice.

"Relax, it's me!" Nick shouted back. Finnick stared at Nick for several seconds before he burst out in laughter.

"Ha ha ha! I will _never_ get used to seeing you in a cop costume, Nick!" he shouted.

"It's not a..." Nick began looking down at his uniform before realizing arguing with his former partner would get him nowhere. "Look, I need your help."

"Oh, is there something you cops can't do?" Finnick taunted.

"No, but I think you can do it faster," Nick shot back, knowing that playing to the fox's ego was the fastest way to get Finnick to help him.

"What do you need?" Finnick asked, obviously curious.

"What do you know about a radio transmitters?" Nick asked, noticing Finnick's curiosity rise.

"What kind transmitter?" Finnick replied.

"A really, really small one," Nick answered back with a small smirk. "You wouldn't happen to know where I could get my hands on one?" Finnick thought for a moment before he looked at Nick suspiciously.

"I can't get in trouble for this," he said in a tone that let Nick know it wasn't just a request.

"Hey, it's not illegal to know some random trivia," Nick replied. The answer certainly seemed satisfy the tiny fox, who gestured to Nick to climb into the van. Nick pulled himself into the tight space and noticed Finnick was typing away on a laptop computer. Nick noted the computer appeared to be extremely, but chose it best keep his mouth shut about it.

Finnick finished his search and turned his computer toward Nick. He looked over the page and saw a small microphone and radio transmitter device.

"So, do you know where one might be able to get one of these in a... shall we say... _clandestine_ manner?" Nick asked.

"Potentially," Finnick replied. Nick new that was as close to a "yes" as he was going to get.

"And, hear me out here, could you hide this, um, _in_ a person?" he asked. Finnick looked at Nick with a strange expression on his face.

"Potentially," Finnick repeated.

"You wouldn't happen to know the frequency these things transmit at, would you?" Nick asked.

"Potentially," Finnick repeated one last time as he reached for a radio receiver tucked under some blankets in the corner of the van. Finnick turned the radio to a certain frequency and they both heard only the sound of grinding metal.

* * *

The heavy metal grate was difficult to move, but Judy managed to budge it out of place. The resulting scraping noise was loud. Judy immediately froze, listening for anyone that might have heard. After hearing nothing for several seconds she pried the grate away from the drain cover and looked down the dark hole.


	10. Procedure

Nick rushed back to the ZPD. Finnick had written down the frequency that seemed to be Judy's frequency, and now Nick needed some of the techs at the police station to triangulate the source of the signal. Hopefully they could find her soon.

 _Her and Bellwether._

He rushed into the lobby and was heading for the computer division when he heard Chief Bogo's booming voice.

"Wilde! My office! Now!" Nick skidded to a stop and looked up to see the large cape buffalo standing up on the second level of the building. The two locked eyes before Bogo silently turned back toward his office. Nick knew he couldn't delay and headed up the stairs.

"What did I do now, sir?" Nick said as he closed the office door behind him.

"Mind explaining why you left the precinct without authorization?" Bogo said, looking up from his desk.

"I'm sorry, but I found a lead in the Bellwether case, and..." Bogo cut Nick off by raising his hand.

"Regardless of what you found, Wilde," he began. "We have procedures in place for a reason. We can't act above the law." The buffalo stopped for a moment before continuing. "All that aside, what was it you found?" Nick pulled out the paper with the frequency out of his pocket.

"Well, sir..." Nick began, before he was suddenly cut off again, this time by Clawhauser, who burst through the office door.

"What are you doing?" Bogo asked the cheetah as Clawhauser gasped for air before answering.

"You..." Clawhauser gasped. "You, better come see this." Bogo immediately stood and followed Clawhauser out of the office. Nick followed as well, putting the paper back in his pocket. The trio walked out to the lobby and were greeted by a truly absurd sight.

Judy stood in the middle of the of the lobby, her fur and clothes covered in all types of gunk and filth. She was panting heavily and was obviously extremely tired, but Nick saw a hint of relief behind the mud on her face. He also noticed the shock collar attached to her neck.

The other officers in the precinct stood in stunned silence before Bogo stepped forward.

"Judy Hopps, you are under arrest for conspiracy prison escape and aiding and abetting a wanted criminal. Lay down on the floor with your hands over your head." Nick opened his mouth to protest, but he knew it would do no good. Judy had broken the law and it would be up to a judge to find her innocent.

Judy silently obeyed the Chief's commands and laid down on the cold tile floor as other officers moved forward to handcuff her. Nick couldn't look Judy in the eye as she was lifted from the floor and moved toward the holding cells. Bogo turned back toward Nick.

"What lead did you find, Wilde?" he asked.

"Well, I," Nick began, his brain flustered by the sudden change in events. "I thought I found a way to find Judy, but, uh..." he glanced over in Judy's direction. "That doesn't seem to a problem anymore."

"Well, you still have work to do," Bogo said as he turned and walked back toward his office. Nick looked after him as he walked away. Yeah, he had work, but he needed to talk to his partner.

Instead of going back to his desk, Nick walked toward the holding cells where Judy was. He strolled down the hall and saw Officer Fangmeyer standing guard outside the cell. Sitting within the cell, waiting for a lawyer presumably, was Judy, still caked in whatever she had crawled through. The only difference Nick could discern was the absence of the shock collar she had been wearing when she arrived at the station, leaving a clean band around her neck.

Even before she noticed Nick, he could see a look of sadness on her face. It nearly broke Nick's heart to she his best friend sitting in a cage, staring at the floor. Her foot was slowly tapping on the concrete floor, leaving a muddy footprint on the ground. Her expression suddenly changed when she heard someone approach and she looked up to see Nick standing on the other side of the bars.

"What happened to me?" she asked. Nick knew she remembered what had happened. The tone of her voice told Nick she was asking about the chain of events that led to her here, sitting in a jail cell. The Judy of last week never would have ended up here.

"Bellwether happened," Nick answered as definitively as he could. "Wherever she is, trouble follows."

"I just wanted my family to be safe," Judy said as she stood. "I just feel so powerless, you know?" Judy walked toward the bars.

"Carrots, it wasn't your fault," Nick replied. The image of his mother flashed through his brain. "I would've done the exact same thing."

"At least I know where she is."

* * *

The SWAT team closed in on the seemingly abandoned warehouse, the dark structure illuminated in the green hue of their night vision googles. Silently, they positioned themselves near several of the entrances. SWAT officers carrying heavy battering rams moved to the doors and waited for the signal.

"OK, three, two, one," the squad leader's spoke softly over the radio. "Execute."

The SWAT officers holding the large battering rams swung them back and let them slam into the heavy metal doors, knocking them off their hinges. As the large doors slammed into the ground, other officers released flash-bang grenades into the darkened structure. Tense seconds passed before the grenades detonated, producing a brilliant flash of light and a deafening bang that would disorientate anyone who happened to be inside.

The SWAT officers rushed into the building, their weapons scanning every inch of the dark, metal interior. While there appeared to evidence of some type of activity in the warehouse recently, whoever it was had left in a hurry.

"Sir, no one's here."


	11. Normal Day

ONE MONTH LATER:

"We, the members of the jury, find the defendant, Judy Hopps," one the jurors stood up an declared to the court room. "Not guilty, by means of coercion." There was a collective sigh of relief from the spectators in the court room and many started to break out in applause.

Judy, by far, was the most relieved. Finally, things could go back to normal. She turned to her attorney and shook his hand before sitting back down in her chair. Luckily, it wasn't a difficult case as there was a mountain of evidence that supported Judy's duress claim. Judging by the applause coming from those in attendance, most people believed her. It was so relieving to have the official ruling on the case.

Judy only had seconds to relax before members of the ZPD and her family rushed over to congratulate her. It was a little overwhelming. Nick, as per usual, didn't join in the fray, but waited on the outskirts for the crowd to disperse. He walked up to Judy with his paw outstretched.

"Good job, Carrots," he said, but Judy wouldn't let him get off with just a handshake. She lundged forward and wrapped the fox in a hug, taking him by surprise.

"Thank you," she said.

"So emotional," Nick replied as they separated. He ran his hand along his belt. "Just checking to see if you left me another note," He added with a laugh.

* * *

The next day, Judy walked into the precinct and took a seat on the bench near the door. Today would be a normal day; the first normal day in a long time. She didn't have to hide. She didn't have to lie. She could finally do her job.

She only sat there for several seconds before Nick walked through the front door, wearing his trademark aviator sunglasses and a large cup of coffee in his left hand. He removed the glasses as he walked over to where Judy was sitting.

"The old bench still comfortable?" he asked in a joking tone.

"It's a little stiffer than I remember," Judy answered back in the same tone. Nick sat down next to her.

"It's good to have you back, Judy," he said. "Policing's been a bit boring on my own. It's more fun to have someone to talk to."

"You're telling me," Judy countered. "The only person I've talked to for the past month was my lawyer. He wasn't exactly the most interesting person in the world."

"Hey, it's time for roll call," Nick said, gesturing toward the clock on the wall as he stood.

Judy stood as well and the pair headed toward the bullpen. The morning announcements were nothing special aside from Bogo welcoming Judy back to the job. Continuing from there, the Chief assigned Nick and Judy were assigned to traffic duty. While Judy had almost hoped for something more exciting, she couldn't argue with an easy day back.

She drove the police cruiser to their first assigned patrol site and parked along the side of the road in a position that would be difficult to spot from oncoming traffic. Nick fired up the radar and started repeating the speeds of cars as they passed.

"46..."

"43..."

"What do you think Bellwether is up to?" Judy interrupted.

"45... Why do you ask?" Nick replied. Judy sighed.

"I don't know," she answered. "It's just a question I've had ever since that whole thing started."

"44... If you want my honest opinion, Carrots," Nick said. "We haven't seen the last of that sheep. 43... She's up to something, and knowing her, it's not good." He reached up to adjust a setting on the radar.

"But what?" Judy reiterated. "She's capable of anything, and that's what's so concerning."

"And we," Nick said with sarcastic bravodo, "Brave members of the ZPD are more than capable of stopping whatever it is she's up to. 42... Relax, Carrots, this is our job."

"I just hope we can stop her before she can hurt anyone else," Judy sighed. With everything she had gone through in the past month. It wasn't a fate she would wish on her worst enemy, even Bellwether.

Still, Nick's reassurances did not seem calm Judy's nerves much and she couldn't seem to calm her brain down while she just sat the with nothing to do. Bellwether's words wouldn't leave her alone. _What would be the fun in spilling everything now?_ That's what she had said. Bellwether had plans and no one had heard a thing about her since then. She had been able to work on her plan uninterrupted.

Her phone suddenly buzzed in her pocket. Judy fumbled a bit as she reached into her pocket an retrieved the phone. She pulled it out and saw that she had retrieved a text message from and unknown number. She opened it and read the short message.

"Nick, you need to see this."


	12. Ultimatum

"What is it Hopps?" Bogo said as he Nick and Judy approached his desk. "This had better be important." Nick watched Judy fish for her phone from her pocket and hold it up to the large buffalo.

"Look." Bogo leaned down and took the phone in his hoof and read the text message. The words and the image had been bouncing around in Nick's brain ever since he first read them.

 _Hello, Judy. Having a good day back on the job?_

Under the words was a photo of the the sign welcoming anyone to Bunnyburrow. That alone would've have been slightly concerning, but what warranted calling the Chief was the text that came immediately afterward.

 _D.B._

Judy had immediately wanted to rush to Bunnyburrow to make sure her family was safe, but Nick had to convince her to call it in first. If Bellwether was up to something, they would need the rest of ZPD behind them to stop her, even if it took a little longer.

Bogo studied the text message. After several seconds he looked up at Judy and Nick and held up the phone.

"Take this to the techs downstairs, if Bellwether has the other phone on, we can trace it," he said as Judy took the phone back.

"She wouldn't be so stupid to leave the phone on," Nick warned. Just as he spoke, the phone buzzed again. Judy's expression after seeing the number was all Nick needed to know that it was yet another message from Bellwether. Nick took the phone after Judy read the text.

 _Three hours. I can't wait to see you again, Judy.  
_ _D.B._

Bogo read the message and immediately stood from his desk.

"Hopps, be ready to leave in the next fifteen minutes," he said.

"Wait, don't you think it's a trap?" Judy replied with a hint of shock in her voice.

"Of course it's a trap," Bogo shot back. "I never said you were going alone." As he spoke, he pressed the button on the intercom on his desk. "Clawhauser, call up SWAT team four, Code 11. Have them ready to go ASAP" Clawhauser affirmed and Bogo turned his attention back to the pair of officers standing in front of his desk. "Hopps, go have the techs trace the phone. We need Bellwether's location."

"Yes sir," Judy replied before she walked out of the room, leaving Nick alone with the Chief.

"Sir, do you think it's wise to send Judy to Bellwether?" Nick asked, hoping he wasn't overstepping his bounds. "Isn't she a little to close to this case?" The large buffalo sighed.

"I wish we had another choice, Wilde," he said, "but the message explicitly mentioned Judy, and I am not willing to gamble innocent lives over something we can control." He paused. "Plus, I trust her to do the right thing. Now, go, you need to be ready to leave as well."

"Well, I'm glad you trust me too, sir!" Nick said as he headed for the door.

"Just get going, Wilde!" Bogo shouted after him as Nick walked into the hallway.

* * *

The SWAT van rumbled down the dirt road towards Bunnyburrow, the passengers inside swaying with every bump in the road. All of them were dressed in heavy black tactical gear except for Nick and Judy. Nick glanced around at the nearly dozen SWAT officers packed into the back of the van. They were nearly all predators; mostly wolves, but a few cheetahs and leopards were sprinkled in as well.

The team leader, a dark gray timber wolf by the name of Sergeant Jonathan Caine, was on the phone with someone. After several minutes, he hung up and moved over to Judy and Nick, struggling to move through the mass of bodies crammed in the van.

"OK, that was a Sheriff Harry Buck," Caine said. "You know him?" he asked Judy. She nodded.

"Yeah, he's been the sheriff since I was... Oh, gosh, since I was twelve, I think." Judy answered.

"Yeah, well, he's offered full cooperation in our investigation," Caine clarified. Judy stifled a small laugh.

"It's not like he did much anyway," Judy said. "It was a more of ceremonial role than anything else."

"It's a formality," Caine agreed. "But we're gonna meet him and then search the town for any sign of Bellwether."

With the base plan in place, the van rolled to a stop near the town hall. One of the SWAT officers threw the back doors open and the small squad leapt from the back of the van and began removing their gear. Nick was impressed by the sheer amount of stuff each member wore.

As the SWAT team got their gear ready, Nick saw an older rabbit and an old sheriff's uniform approach the group. Caine saw him too.

"Mr. Buck," he said, holding out his paw. The rabbit returned the favor but Nick noticed a slight hesitation to shake the hand of the larger predator. Nick also noticed the sheriff eye Nick with slight suspicion.

 _Well, some things don't change._

"Ok, we'll need everyone on the main street to stay in their homes while we search the yards," Caine explained as he pointed toward the houses not far away. While most of the population of Bunnyburrow lived far away from the city center in farms, those rabbits that weren't farmers lived close to the town center. If Bellwether was planning something, she would want the larger population density to witness it.

"That can be arranged," the sheriff replied. "You said you're looking for a sheep?"

"Yes," Judy said, joining the conversation. "She wanted on domestic terrorism and attempted murder charges," she explained "and we have reason to believe she's here somewhere."

"Well, I'll be...!" the sheriff said, almost as if he hadn't listened to a word she had said. "If it isn't Judy Hopps! I remember when you were born!" Nick couldn't help but smile when the look of annoyed frustration crossed her face. Caine looked at the watch on his wrist.

"We don't have much time left before Bellwether's ultimatum runs out," he said before motioning to his men to move out. Caine only walked a few steps before his body suddenly jerked. Fractions of a second later, the loud report of a rifle echoed down the street.

"Contact!" one of the officers shouted as Caine collapsed into a heap in the dirt.


	13. Confrontation

Nick and Judy scrambled to find cover, deciding on a low cinderblock wall nearby. The SWAT officers scrambled for cover as well, weapons trained on the buildings in the areas a sniper could be. One of the officers grabbed Caine and dragged him back toward the truck. Nick was relieved to see him move his arm slightly. The bullet was most likely stopped by his vest, but it still would've knocked the wind out of him.

"Did you see where it came from?" Judy asked, her ears twitching, trying to locate the source of the gunshot.

"No, but it had to have come from that direction," Judy said, pointing toward a cluster of small buildings. Nick lifted his head slightly to shout the location to the members of the SWAT team. As his head rose, the crack of a bullet flying nearby overhead forced Nick back behind the wall.

"Nick!" Judy shouted at him.

"I know, I know..." he grumbled in response as he waved to get the attention of a nearby SWAT officer. Once he had, Nick frantically pointed in the direction of the sniper's location. The officer followed Nick's line of sight and apparently caught sight of the gunman.

"Visual! Top right window! Brown building!" he shouted, pointing his weapon toward the enemy. Caine had finally regained his senses and reached for the radio.

"Shots fired. Officers need help," he said before describing their location to any units that would be able to respond. It all happened so fast. The situation went from totally in control to totally insane in mere moments. Nick struggled to make sense of his surroundings as the SWAT officers moved toward the building with the sniper.

"Hey, Carrots we should follow those guys," he said as he prepared to dart from cover. Judy, however, didn't respond. "Carrots? Are you ready?" Still, there was no response. He turned around and saw nothing. Judy wasn't there. "Carrots? Judy!?" Nick yelled, panic growing in his mind. He starting moving, though he wasn't sure which direction to go. She just up and vanished.

He then noticed soem scuff marks on the ground. How had he not heard anything? He followed the marks toward another building. It was an old decrepit building on the outskirts of the town center. He slowly walked inside. The first thing he noticed was that there were no more marks to follow, which meant he was now trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Then he heard it, a muffled yell. He couldn't be sure, but it definitely sounded like Judy's voice. It was coming from upstairs, so Nick drew his sidearm and moved toward the source of the sound. He reached the second floor and faced a hallway. The floor and walls looked like they were falling apart and would've appeared to be abandoned had it not been for the light coming from underneath the last door on the left.

Nick approached the door slowing making sure his feet wouldn't cause the floorboards to squeak. He got close to the door just as he heard the muffled yell again. It was definitely Judy. He inched closer to the door, trying to get an idea of how many people were inside. Then he misplaced a step. The loud creak certainly alerted anyone inside to his presence.

 _Welp. Now or never._

Nick threw his shoulder into the door, causing it to fly open. He raised his weapon as he took in the room. The first thing he noticed was Judy. The second thing he noticed was the large ram holding her. He was holding her mouth shut and doing his best to keep her arms and legs from flailing. Nick had to admit he was doing a surprisingly good job despite Judy's power hind legs. The third thing he noticed was the little sheep named Bellwether.

Bellwether turned quickly at the crashing sound of Nick's entrance. Moving surprisingly fast, she grabbed Judy from the ram's grasp, holding her by the neck. She then held something up to Judy's head, it took Nick a second, but he saw it was a small gun.

"Go!" she barked to her henchman. He obliged and left out another door in the room, leaving only Bellwether, Judy, and Nick alone in the room. "Take one step forward, _fox_ , and I'll pump her full of lead!" she shouted at Nick. Nick took a step back and lowered his weapon slightly.

"OK, let's slow down here," Nick said in as calm a voice his adrenaline-filled body could muster. "Lower the gun."

" _You_ drop the gun," Bellwether shot back. Judy struggled slightly, causing Bellwether to move the gun slightly closer to her head.

"I can't do that," Nick said. "Let her go."

"After all she's done to me!?" Bellwether nearly screamed. "If I go down, she's coming down with me!"

" _Let her go_ ," Nick repeated, feeling anger flow through his body as he gripped his sidearm tighter.

"You can't stop-" Bellwether never finished the sentence. Nick acted on pure instinct. In the flash of an eye, he had lunged toward Bellwether, tackling her to the ground and freeing Judy simultaneously. When Bellwether and Nick landed, however, it happened to be a particularly weak section of the floor, and it gave way beneath them.

The slammed through the first floor as well, finding themselves on the darkened basement. Both laid on ground, covered in dust, for several seconds, letting the shock of the fall wear off.

Nick recovered first. He stood slowly, his body sore, and noted he still had his sidearm in his hand. Bellwether started to stand.

"Dawn Bellwether, you are under arrest," he said through labored breaths.

"No, you can't stop what's coming," Bellwether replied, also breathing hard.

"Why are you doing all this?" Nick couldn't stop the question from coming out. All of his frustrations were starting to boil over. "What's the point?"

"People have too much faith," she breathed out. "Too much faith in their _protectors,_ " she spat the word out like it was poison. "Too much faith in people like _you_."

"What did you do?" Nick asked.

"Of course we needed to improvise when Judy escaped," Bellwether continued, as if Nick wasn't even there.

" _What did you do?_ " Nick repeated.

"It doesn't matter now, just arrest me," Bellwether, holding her hands out in front of her. Nick wanted to step forward and put cuffs on her, but his feet refused to move. "What are you waiting for?" she asked.

Nick slowly lifted his weapon, like he had no control of it. But he had total control. All of his anger toward Bellwether started boiling to the surface; anger toward the creature that tried to ruin his best friend's life; anger toward the creature that tortured her.

"Whoa, calm down," Bellwether said when she noticed the gun raising.

"Why should I let you live?" he asked. "So you can blackmail someone else; try to ruin someone else's life?" He aimed the gun at Bellwether. "Or would you just come after Judy again?" He slowly squeezed the trigger.


	14. Capture

" _NICK!_ "

Nick released pressure on the trigger just before the the gun fired, startled by the loud shout behind him. He spun around and saw Judy standing in the doorway of the darkened basement. She was holding her sidearm, and it was pointed at Nick. Bellwether stood, unharmed, her hoofs covering her face.

"Nick, whatever good you'll think will come of this, it's not worth it," she said in a calming voice.

"You of all people know what she's capable of," Nick shot back. Judy raised her weapon slightly, a stern look of determination written across her face.

"It's not our place to decide that, Nick," she replied sternly. "We are police. We are _not_ judge, jury, and executioner. She deserves every right I did while I was on trial." Nick shifted his gaze between the cowering Bellwether and Judy. He started to lower the gun, only slightly. His brain was reeling.

Suddenly, Bellwether lunged toward Nick. He didn't have time to react when his ears were assaulted by a deafening crack which echoed off the concrete walls in the small room. Nick cupped his ears and waited for the ringing to subside before he could regain his senses.

He looked around the room and saw Judy standing in a defensive pose, smoke wafting from the barrel of her weapon. Bellwether lay on the ground the feet away, motionless. Judy was breathing hard and Nick realized his own heart was racing. Bellwether shifted slightly, causing both Nick and Judy to jump slightly.

"You _shot_ me!" she shouted in a voice filled with genuine surprise.

"What?" Judy asked, her voice slightly louder than normal.

"You actually shot me! I didn't think you'd actually... Argh!" Bellwether rolled over and Nick saw a small trickle of blood from her right arm. The bullet must've barely grazed her arm just above the elbow.

"What are you saying?" Judy asked again. Nick saw the look of confusion on her face.

"You OK, Carrots?" he asked, keeping an eye on Bellwether, who hadn't even managed to move to a sitting position. Judy turned to Nick.

"What?" Her voice was still louder than normal. Nick suddenly realized what happened.

"Can. You. Hear. Me?" Nick asked, speaking slowly and making sure to enunciate each word clearly. Judy processed the words for several seconds.

"I can hear ringing!" she shouted back.

"OK," Nick said under his breath as he turned back toward Bellwether, who was still complaining about her gunshot wound.

"She actually shot me! Can you believe that?" she asked Nick as he approached, handcuffs in hand.

"Yeah, actually," Nick replied. He knelt down and started putting the handcuffs on her. "Dawn Bellwether, you are under arrest. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

"I need a hospital!" Bellwether said.

"You'll be fine," Nick answered flatly. "You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as I've explained them?"

"Yes, just get me out of here!" she said in response.

"My pleasure," Nick said as he pulled the sheep to her feet. Bellwether let out a groan of pain as she stood. Nick looked at Judy. "Can you hear yet?" She held up her fingers to indicate that she could hear a little, but a gunshot in an enclosed space could not have been kind on her sensitive ears. Nick nodded in response and pulled the radio from his belt.

"This is Officer Wilde, we have Bellwether in custody," he said.

"Copy that. Sniper in custody," the SWAT officer on the other end of the line replied.

"10-4. There's at least one more ram around here, so be out on the lookout for him," Nick warned. "We're bringing Bellwether to the van."

"10-4, copy that," the voice responded. Nick placed the radio back on his belt and turned toward Bellwether.

"Come on, we're going," he said and nudged the sheep toward the door. The trio left the old building and walked back toward the town center. As they came outside, Nick saw the SWAT officers milling about, looking for other associates of Bellwether. The ram that had shot at the officers was lying on the ground with a SWAT officer standing guard over him.

Nick guided Bellwether to the van that was still parked in the center of the square and lifted her into the back before climbing in himself. Judy slowly climbed in. It was obvious her hearing wasn't fully back yet. Inside the van were two of the SWAT officers, Sergeant Caine and the squad medic, who was looking over him. Nick pushed Bellwether into a sitting position on the floor and looked up at the two officers.

"She needs to patched up," he said to the medic.

"She shot me!" Bellwether added while gesturing with her head to Judy. Judy responded with a sarcastic smirk. Caine was clearly impressed and struggled to stand inside the cramped van. Nick could see the damage to his vest caused by the bullet. The wolf was clearly sore.

"Good job, Wilde," he said, moving over to Bellwether. "Now, what can you tell us?"

"He tried to kill me," Bellwether said, looking at Nick. "While I was defenseless," she added in a darker tone. Caine looked at Nick suspiciously.

"No, he didn't." All three looked to Judy, who seemed to have regained her composure. She looked at Caine. "She had just threatened me. Nick couldn't be sure if she had a weapon or not." Judy looked back at Bellwether. "Plus, you lunged at him right after that, so you have _no_ room to talk," she added sternly. Caine seemed to accept the explanation.

"Now, what can you tell me about what you were doing here?" Caine asked Bellwether. Bellwether shot the wolf a defiant look but remained silent. The medic moved over and started looking at Bellwether's arm. She winced in pain.

"Sir, third suspect in custody. Caught him trying to jump a fence," Caine's radio said. Caine depressed the transmit button. "10-4, Copy that." He turned his attention back to the prisoner in front of him.

"Well, if you won't talk, we have to others outside who I'm sure would love to answer these questions," he said. Bellwether's expression suddenly shifted from defiant to worried.

 _That got her._

"I want my lawyer," she said.


	15. Interrogation

Judy looked through the glass into the interrogation room. Bogo stood next to her, looking over some documents on his clipboard. Judy studied the small figure sitting alone, handcuffed to the table, in the adjacent room.

At first glance, Dawn Bellwether would seem to be an insignificant sheep. She didn't look threatening, but Judy knew more than anyone that those green eyes hid a dark personality. Standing next to Bellwether was her lawyer, a pig in a neat suit, who certainly looked like he wanted to be defending anyone else at that moment.

Bogo finished looking over his notes and left to enter the interrogation room. He towered over both Bellwether and her attorney, though Bellwether made a show of not being intimidated by the large buffalo, looking up to meet his gaze.

"Ms. Bellwether," he began in a low voice. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Yeah, cause I'm a terrorist and whatnot. Blah, blah, blah," she answered nonchalantly. Her lawyer looked terrified that she was talking in that tone.

"More than that now, mam," Bogo replied before looking at his notes. "Kidnapping, coercion, assault with a deadly weapon. The list goes on." He sat down the clipboard and moved down into the seat at the table across from Bellwether. "Care to explain?" Bellwether seemed to consider her options before she shifted her gaze to the large two way mirror on the wall, almost looking Judy in the eye.

"Would I be wrong in assuming Judy's listening?" she asked, studying the mirror. Her gaze sent shivers up Judy's spine.

"Just answer the question," Bogo answered irritably. A small smile crawled over Bellwether's face as she turned back to the large buffalo.

"So, that's a 'yes', I take it?" she asked with a smirk. Bogo let out an annoyed snort.

"Don't let her get to you..." Judy whispered from the other side of the glass. She knew Bellwether was playing mind games, but she knew Bogo was smart enough see past it. Judy was intently focused on the interrogation happening before her that she barely heard the door open behind her. She glanced back just long enough to see that Nick had walked into the room.

"How's the big guy doing?" he whispered.

"She's playing mind games with him," Judy answered.

"Would you expect anything else?" Nick said.

"It doesn't matter who's here. Just answer the question." Bogo was becoming more frustrated with the small sheep sitting in front of him.

"I just want to make sure she can hear what I'm about to say," Bellwether said in some type of innocent voice. "It mostly involves her anyway." Bogo eyed Bellwether suspiciously. "Do you hear that, Judy?!" the sheep suddenly yelled toward the mirror. "It's all your fault!"

"What do you mean by that?" Bogo asked. Bellwether snapped her head back to focus on Bogo.

"If it wasn't for that bunny," Bellwether said, a snarl forming on her face. "Everything would have been just fine. But she had to sticking her nose where it didn't belong." She was almost talking through her teeth. "That was the beauty of this whole thing. I would go free, and she would fall from grace. Hero cop goes nuts!" Bellwether waved her hands in front of her, apparently imagining the newspaper headlines. Bellwether let out a frustrated sigh.

"But _of course_ , that bunny has the awful habit of being a major pain in my side," Bellwether continued as she turned back toward the mirror. "You have more luck than any other creature in existence, you know that?"

"She's not wrong about that," Nick commented. It almost made Judy jump. Bellwether tirade was so engrossing she almost forgot her partner was in the room.

"So framing her seemed to be out of the question, so what's the second best thing I could do? Just straight kill her, you know?" Bellwether was now in full monologue mode. Her lawyer tried to step in to stop her from talking, only for Bellwether to shoo him away.

"Stop, I'm talking," she said before turning back toward Bogo. "Anyway, I tried to just kill her, but she _still_ gets away! I mean, really? Can you believe that? Random chance would say I should've killed her by now."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Bogo asked.

"Because you told me to?" Bellwether replied in a questioning tone. "Also, if you don't let me walk out of this building in, say, five minutes, it will be turned into a pile of rubble." Bellwether sat back in her chair and took in the bewildered look on the chief and her lawyer's faces.

"Did you _really_ think I didn't have a contingency for this situation?" she added with a laugh. "The explosives were going to used against some... other things, but placing them around this building was a good second target.

"Nick, start to get people out of the building," Judy said. He snapped out of his stunned silence and nodded before he darted into the hall.

"Tick, tick, tick, Chief," Bellwether warned. "Time's running out." Bogo stood and left the interrogation room. The attorney left seconds later, heading for the exit. Bogo walked into the adjacent room where Judy was.

"Sir, Nick's started an evacuation," Judy informed.

"Good," Bogo replied. His mind was obviously reeling. Judy knew Bellwether was insane, but was just extreme even by her standards.

"What should we do?" Judy asked.

"Well, we can't just let a criminal back out on the street," he answered.

"So, we just wait for the bombs to go off?" Judy asked.

"No," Bogo replied. "Leave. I'll deal with the prisoner. Try to get people as far from the building as possible. I'll be right behind you."

"Yes, sir," Judy answered. She reluctantly turned toward the door. Just before leaving, she looked back toward Bellwether. A look of panic had replaced the sheep's confidence and she was struggling with the handcuffs that kept her in the seat. Judy almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

Judy rushed into the empty lobby and made her way to the front door. She saw Nick directing people away from the building with a bullhorn.

"Please vacate the premises," he said as calmly as he could. He then noticed Judy leaving the building. "Carrots, where's the Chief?" he asked.

"He's going to make sure Bellwether gets out without escaping," she said. "He should be out soon."

"Good," Nick answered. "We don't have much-" He wasn't able to finish his sentence due to the massive shock wave that threw both Judy and Nick to the ground. Her ears ringing and her hands scraped up from sliding across the pavement, Judy looked back at precinct, which was now engulfed in fire.

"Huh, she actually wasn't bluffing." Nick's voice cut through the ringing as Judy saw him climbing to his feet. He didn't look any worse for wear, though some of his fur was singed by falling embers. Judy sat up when her brain came to a sudden realization.

"Chief!" Judy bolted toward the entrance.

"Carrots, wait!" Nick yelled before bolting after her. Judy reached the doorway, but was slowed down to the billowing black smoke. She was just about to rush in when Nick grabbed her arm to hold her back.

"Judy, you won't find him!" he yelled over the roaring flames.

"Someone has to try!" she yelled back.

"You will die if you go in there!" he said as he tried to pull her away from the flames.

"I need to try!" she repeated. She was just about to yank her arm away from Nick when the roof started to collapse. Judy looked up just in time to see several pieces of concrete dislodge and begin to plummet toward her and Nick. He saw it to apparently, managing to throw her out of the way with all the strength he could muster before attempting to duck out of the way himself.

Judy just saw large pieces of debris slam into the ground, kicking up dust and embers.

"NICK!" Judy shouted as he scrambled toward the debris, starting to pull the rocks out of the way. "Nick!" she shouted again. She then saw so movement under the rubble. "Nick, are you OK?"

"Yeah," a weak voice responded. "Arm's pinned, though," he added. Judy saw the rock and knew it would be too heavy to lift. She looked up toward the first responders who were arriving at the scene.

"Somebody help me!"

* * *

It took a long time for Zootopia to return to normal. To Judy, it never really felt like it fully went back to normal. The precinct was rebuilt, but it never felt the same. Morning roll call was never the same without Bogo there to start the day. His body along with Bellwether's was found in a collapsed hallway near the entrance. Had Bellwether's timing been more accurate, they would have had more time to escape, but that last mistake cost her her own life.

The following weeks saw the arrest of many animals who had supported Bellwether in her crusade against Judy and the ZPD.

Nick made a full recovery, though it took a long time to regain the full range of motion in his left hand. They still met each morning on a bench near the door before work.

 **THE END**

* * *

Author's Note: Well, that's it. I feel like it wrapped really quick at the very end, but I was running out of ideas and I was starting to brainstorm for another story. Thank you to everyone who read and enjoyed this!


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